Disclaimer: I am by no means the master of drafting but am fairly experienced. Since no one else has put the effort into it, I've decided to write an article that will help new players get introduced to the draft format. My hope is that this article will also provide other more seasoned players some new ideas.

What is a Draft?

A Draft is a specific type of tournament where each player brings 3 packs with them (as I write this they are typically one from each of the following sets: Atok, Decent, and Maelstrom). The cost of playing is 2 Event Passes. Players open their first pack simultaneously, select a card from it, and then pass the rest of the pack to their neighbor. A 2nd card is then selected by each player from his or her current pack, and then passed again. This repeats until each pack has been opened and had all of its cards picked. Using the cards each player picks during this “drafting phase� they construct a 30 card minimum deck to play with.

Prizes coincidentally occur so that each of the eight participants win one pack for each win they claim during the tournament. However, if the draft is one scheduled by SOE or is held during a Draftmania! weekend then even last place (with zero wins) will also receive 1 pack. Since 2 Event Passes cost less than 1 pack, a draft held during these times is a good deal for all players. If you already have the packs, this is the most enjoyable way to open them!

Rare Drafting

Many players try to construct the most competitive deck possible while drafting. As such, they often pass on rare cards that are either not very competitive or do not fit into the player’s current tech scheme for the deck they are trying to construct. Other players may then be able to select a rare from their original pack and get a 2nd rare from the pack passed to them. In this way it is not entirely uncommon for someone to draft 5+ rare cards. This is not a bad deal considering they only brought 3 packs with them! Rare drafting often results in a less competitive deck – but for some players trying to build their collection the trade off is worth it.

Some new players wonder if this rare drafting technique is impolite or somehow frowned upon. I personally have no problem with it nor have I encountered another Star Chamber player who has complained about someone else rare drafting.

The Same technique can be used to draft more than 9 uncommons out of your 3 packs. This Uncommon drafting can be a great way for a newer player to build their collection. -- Editor

Selection of Cards

I base the usefulness of a card on 3 factors: how useful is its affect, how often will it be playable, and how much tech does it require. How to weigh each of these factors against one another depends on the tech you plan to use and other cards you have already selected. It is, for new drafters and old alike, one of the toughest and most enjoyable parts of a draft tournament. Simply put: it requires experience and luck to draft a good deck… and I most certainly do not have it down to a science yet. I digress…

How Useful is the Effect?

Some cards have effects that are very powerful. Weapons Lockup is a perfect example of a card that can significantly change the outcome of a game during an important battle. Mounted Pulse Gun can also have a large overall impact on a game if it is played early on a scout that can catch and destroy an enemy scout. Noted Dignitary can provide the difference between controlling a minor planet or not – which is also very important early in the game – although less so than destroying an enemy’s scout, starting hero, and citizen. Field Agents and Nomadic Horde are cards that, if given the ability to conquer a few planets, will also have a very big impact on the game. In the same way a bounce back card like External Targeting Sensors or a charging modification like Chemical Enrichment can add up over time.

A card like Secure Ansible Channel has its uses but is not going to change the overall direction of a match in the same way a card like Noted Dignitary would. Other cards like Rabble can also be handy but tend to not alter the balance of a game significantly either. These cards are good to pick later in a draft as they can be helpful, but do not pick them up early! Go after stronger cards instead.

Other cards are next to useless. Leaders of the Assault almost never makes a difference, nor does Wildcat Strike. Doubtlessly you will have to pick a few of these junk cards at the end of each pack. Oh well!

How Often Will it be Playable?

Many cards are nearly always playable. Heroes, citizens, ships, and ship modifications can usually be played as soon as you draw them. None require a special situation or timing to be used.

Other cards like Baby Boom can only be used once certain circumstances occur. Pushing the Envelope also is limited in that some maps render it totally useless (except for ditching) and even on maps that it can be used, you will need to have a scout in the correct position first. Collateral Damage, while useful, is also fairly situational. These cards with medium opportunity for play should be selected – just select them after you have gotten cards that are more universally playable.

Of course, there are cards that need such specific situations that they may end up sitting in your hand for a long, long time. Examples of this would be Witchcraft and Jamming Screen. Yes, you can play these cards in a game. But will you always be able to? I personally don’t think so.

How Much Tech Does it Require?

A card’s tech balance is important in draft because it impacts its splashability. A card like Ion Arc Scout is a useful card at a fair tech cost. However, unless you are dedicated to being human it is useless to you. On the other hand, a card like Battlefield Courier can be put into an Omior, Silica, or Clave deck by splashing 1 order tech. Another famously useful splash card is Payback since it is both very powerful and can be put into any of the entropy races' decks (its tech cost is 1 order and 4 entropy). I often will plan on a race and then pick one tech to splash into it. For example, if I choose to be Clave I may decide to splash 1 mind tech. Then, when I see a Frenzied Changling I know that it will fit into my tech structure and I will probably select it.

Other Notes About Card Selection

Certain card types seem to always be extra helpful in drafts so snatching them up for your own use is usually a good idea.

The first card type is ships. I mentioned Ion Arc Scout earlier because I see it in draft all the time. Humans have a lot of common ship cards to use and it is one of their greatest strengths in draft. Other races do too, but few are as generally useful as the human scouts in my opinion.

Conquerors are not exactly in short supply during a draft, but they are very useful to have. Many, many cards go from meh to really useful if they are local to a flag or conqueror. Having conquerors in your deck will allow you to take advantage of these impressive bonuses.

Basically, if you would put this card in a Standard deck that didn’t rely on a special combo, then put it in your draft deck! Of course, these examples are not remotely exhaustive but will, hopefully, give you an idea how I select my cards so that you could apply the same principals.

Choosing a Race

This is where I find the most confusion and difficulty: knowing which race to pick up front. Again, I must admit I am far from the most experience draft player and other folks may have more direct answers.

What I do is see what rare and uncommon cards fit the above "What card should I pick?" criteria and try to select a tech structure around them. Later (that is, about 2/3 of the way through the first pack – or at least by the start of the 2nd pack) you will be able to choose a race and have a tech spread in mind.

I should point out that, to me, tech spread is more important than race. For example, if I have a tech spread of 1 entropy, 1 life, and 3 cyber so far, I am narrowed down to either Silica or Android - but can still go either way. Then, if a card like Nomadic Raiders comes to me I can decide to go with the rocks. Of course, something like a Flanking Cruiser will help me to decide towards the ‘droids too!

Of course, I am personally biased towards picking a rare since I can trade it off after the draft. Still, by taking that rare you might be passing up a really great uncommon such as Gone Rogue! You alone can balance the many factors while selecting. Goodness knows I sure can’t.

Thanks for reading – and I do love comments so feel free to add your own suggestions!

GL + HF

Wuppin’